Hawaii lawmakers kill bill to fly homeless back to mainland

HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii lawmakers have killed a bill that would have funded a program to fly homeless people back to the mainland, saying some people may view the program as a vacation.

House Human Services Committee Chairwoman Dee Morikawa said Tuesday that people might come to Hawaii knowing the state could very well pay for their flights home.

A service provider says his organization flew 133 homeless people from Waikiki to other states last year. But the funding mostly came from donations, and he says they can only afford to fly homeless people off Maui this year.

The proposal had aimed to send homeless people who aren't from Hawaii back to the states where they have support systems.

Hawaii has the highest rate of homelessness per-capita in the nation.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Scientists agree that the Earth has been warming due to human-induced climate change, and as temperatures continue to rise, an increasing amount of severe weather events are expected to occur. Hawaii has already been seeing some of the impacts, researchers say, so how can the state prepare for more severe effects in the future?

Scientists agree that the Earth has been warming due to human-induced climate change, and as temperatures continue to rise, an increasing amount of severe weather events are expected to occur. Hawaii has already been seeing some of the impacts, researchers say, so how can the state prepare for more severe effects in the future?